Whether an archer shoots at least one arrow for pleasure, as in a tournament; or for necessity, as in obtaining food; it is critical that the arrow flies in a true path toward the desired target. For such accuracy to be achieved, the archer must hold the bow in substantially the same manner every time.
In archery, the forehand is the hand which holds the riser or the mainframe of the bow. If the archer does not use the forehand to hold the bow in the same manner every time, the distance between the actual striking point of the arrow and the striking point indicated by the sighting system of the bow will be unacceptable. The reason for this problem is that the forehand does not make contact with the grip of the bow at exactly the angle and manner every time the archer prepares to shoot an arrow.
One method of gripping the bow in substantially the same manner every time is to make the gripping surface of the bow as thin as possible. Some archers even remove the gripping surface of the bow completely and replace it with a small piece of tape. While this reduces the chance of varying the grip, it does not eliminate such an action and greatly reduces the comfort of handling the bow.
Any slight twist in the wrist or different grip on the bow is compounded both by the distance to the archer's target and by all sighting systems and mechanisms. Shooting a bow that is twisted will cause an erratic arrow flight. An arrow that flies erratically will not hit the target at the same point as a true flying arrow.
This problem is highly compounded by any awkward stance or body position that the archer must assume in while hunting, or in tournament situations. Wearing gloves while shooting a bow changes the archer's grip. It is at least substantially impossible to hold the bow in the same manner as with gloves on and as with gloves off. Wearing gloves in a hunting situation is very common. Wearing gloves or mittens is a necessity while hunting in cold weather.
The main reason, that the distance between where an arrow will hit a target and where the archer's sighting system indicates the arrow will hit the target is in jeopardy, is that the archer will never be able to hold the bow in his forehand in exactly the same manner every time he or she picks up a bow and shoots an arrow.
When the bow grip is twisted on a vertical plane, the sight impact point will twist in the direction the bow grip is twisted. The reason for this is the sight is always mounted to the riser of the bow.
The front of the arrow sits on the arrow rest. When the bow is twisted, the rest will only move slightly because it is virtually on a common axis with the twisting bow. Therefore the arrow's path has not changed, but the sight line will move with the twisted riser. The arrow will fly the same path as before the riser was twisted. The sight will give the archer a false reading. As a result, when the archer feels that the sight is aimed at target, the archer is actually moving the arrow off target.
In order to hit the target consistently with a bow of the prior art, the archer must have his forehand grip on the bow exactly the same every time. The archer also will have to judge the distance to the target correctly, as well as have to hold his sighting system on the target as the bow is released.
It is very important for an archer to be able to hit the target with the first arrow shot out of a bow every day, in all conditions, wearing gloves, or not. It is also very uncommon to have two different archers shoot the same bow and hit the target in the same place. This is primarily due to the fact that two individuals cannot grip the bow the same way.
Many archers shoot their bows with a device called a release aid. This device holds the bow string back and releases the string by pulling a lever or pushing a button. This is much like the trigger of a gun. A common mistake made by archers, who shoot with a release aid, is that they do not make the release of the arrow a surprise.
Most, if not all professional archers or shooters use a back tension release style, in order to surprise even a professional shooter. This is to eliminate a condition called target panic. This term is used to describe the flinching an archer may do at the time of, or just before the release of the arrow. The flinching will also cause the wrist angle on the grip to change to a degree.